The Elder Aviator: August 2014

Video Ingenuity: Why I Flew 1,000 Miles to Film a Commercial in Fake Snow

In 1982 I was serving as Director of Flight Operations and Training with responsibility for The Ohio State University’s Air Transportation Service (ATS) and all the flight training for the Department of Aviation. As might be expected, flight instruction activity at the OSU Airport slows to a dull roar in December because of inclement weather and the lack of aviation students, most of whom have migrated off-campus to enjoy the Christmas break.

The seasonal slowdown in December 1982 was typical and gave me the opportunity to disappear for a few days to participate in two AOPA weekend training courses, one in West Palm Beach and the other in Little Rock, Arkansas. The vehicle for these trips was a Cessna 340 I rented on occasion for personal business travel; it was not a big airplane (6 seats, max takeoff weight just short of 6,000 pounds), nor was it a speed merchant (average cruise speed 170-180 knots TAS in the mid-teens) but it satisfied my needs. I truly enjoyed flying this pressurized light twin that was for all practical purposes a scaled-down Cessna 421.

Typical Cessna 340

Celestial Nose Art - Part Two

Click here for Part One

During the war years U. S. Army Air Corps fighter pilots (the “brown shoe” air force) may have led the pack when it came to decorating their airplanes but bomber crews were not far behind. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is a classic example; its large slab-sided fuselage presented a virtual billboard for the nose-art painters.

Larger, faster, able to carry a heavier bomb load and fly greater distances than the legendary B-17 Flying Fortress, the Liberator still holds the record for the most-produced American military aircraft…more than 18,000 units. The Ford Motor Company built half of these in its Willow Run, Michigan facility; at peak production Ford was turning out B-24s at the astounding rate of 21 bombers every day.

Willow Run production lines

Celestial Nose Art - Part One

Ever since armed forces took to the sky military pilots have decorated their aircraft with painted slogans, pictures, names and countless other symbols. The original purpose was to help identity friendly units in combat (WWI German ace Manfred von Richthofen painted his airplanes bright red, hence the sobriquet “Red Baron”) but over the years this practice developed into an art form that is sometimes considered folk art and may be compared to graffiti. With respect to military aircraft it is known as “nose art.”

An early example showed up on the Farman 40, a French observation airplane used during WWI; its blunt nose (the engine and propellor were in the rear) provided an outstanding canvas for the depiction of a grinning skull. This was probably intended to laugh in the face of the short life expectancy of combat airmen during the war.

About me

I'm Richard Taylor and my life as an aviator began in 1955, having graduated from The Ohio State University in June 1954 and commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Air Force. I completed flight training in 1956 and was assigned to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida where I flew KC-97 tankers for three years...the beginning of career #1.

I left active duty in 1959 and moved back to Ohio. In the years that followed I flew several different aircraft in the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and Army National Guard. I retired from the Air Force Reserve in 1979 as a Major and Command Pilot.

In 1966 I joined the faculty of the Department of Aviation at The Ohio State University. In addition to classroom and flight instruction I was a pilot in the University's Air Transportation Service and as a part-time student, earned an MA degree in journalism. I was Director of Flight Operations and Training from 1981 until I retired from OSU as an associate professor in 1988.

During my 47 years as a pilot I logged 12,000 hours of flight time in a wide variety of military and civilian aircraft. My civilian pilot credentials include Airline Transport, Commercial Pilot and Flight Instructor certificates with several type ratings. I also served as an FAA-designated pilot examiner during the latter years of my tenure at Ohio State.

In 1971 I began career #2 as an author with a book titled Instrument Flying, followed by 21 more aviation books. I was also the founder and editor of The Pilot's Audio Update, a monthly subscription program on CD that was published continuously for 33 years. My most recent book is titled 47 Years in Aviation - A Memoir.

Career #3 was launched in 1975 as a consultant and expert witness in litigation involving pilots. When I closed that business 39 years later I had consulted and/or testified in 554 cases.